hanged 12 prisoners simultaneously on July 22, two of them being political prisoners

denied the Holocaust

called for the destruction of Israel

supported international terrorism that targets innocent civilians and American troops

pursued nuclear ambitions in opposition to international sanctions

The world we live in is insane. I can't believe this guy was allowed to walk around Columbia's campus today. He is one of the world's most dangerous geopolitical figures and deserves nothing less than a cold jail cell.

22 comments:

Ahmadinejad is not a nice guy, buta) he's no worse than many other world leaders we regularly talk to, andb) we have treaty obligations to let world leaders into New York to attend the UN.c) he's not subject to US law, so under what basis are we going to arrest him?

You could make a better argument that Columbia shouldn't have hosted his speech, but personally I think universities should err on the side of more speech, not less. Let him speak and let his critics speak too,.

I agree with mtraven and che completely. I personally don't like Ahmadinejad at all, but it would be plain nonsense to jail him in the US (or anywhere else than Iran).

# denied the Holocaust# called for the destruction of Israel

These are opinions and speechs, not actions. Do you want to jail someone because he has "funny" opinions on the Holocaust?

Wish projection; at night I fantasize about a powerful UN.

Oh, the Global Government dream. How cool -only downside, it creates a state you can never go outside of. If your powerful UN goes crazy (what about an Ahmadinejad-ruled UN?), there's nowhere else you can flee. Not nice.

I too may not be a fan of Ahmadinejad's radical Islamic way's, but thats not reason enough to arrest him... Who's to say that democracy is THE only way, especially for a country in ME. I even agree with some of his statements about Israel. They have no right to be there and even if they did, they surly DON'T have ANY rigt to treat palestinians like they do...

I'm a long time reader, first time poster. I don't agree with what Ahmadinejad stands for but he travelled to the US where they have the right to free speech. Voltaire is attributed with having said, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." I also believe that he would have had diplomatic immunity so he can't be placed under arrest.

Yes, I realize that Ahmadinejad has certain immunities as a traveling president, particularly as he's en route to the United Nations. My post was meant to bring awareness to the absurdity of his traveling privileges. Normally when dangerous criminals like Ahmadinejad exist on the political scene they are given travel bans, which essentially declares that *should* they travel they will be arrested by the host country. This is the current reality for such dictators as Belarus's Alexander Lukashenko and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.

BTW, Ahmadinejad is not a diplomat and does not afford the same traveling privileges.

Finally, this is not a freedom of speech issue. He's not an public intellectual with academic liberties: he is a head of state and is bound by international laws to conduct Iran's affairs in accordance with recognized laws and conventions.

Allowing Ahmadinejad to make an as out of himself in a roomful of academics (and by proxy, the free world) helps to rob the fucking little bastard of his one claim to tyranny — the perception of an anti-Islamic, oppressive U.S. that doesn't allow the airing of Arab opinion.

There's nothing wrong with letting a fool look the fool. Besides, we here in America could stand to take the moral high ground by demonstrating that freedom of speech still has value. It is an inalienable right of our citizens, and, by extension, our guests — provided they break no laws nor incite rebellion.

Ahmadinejad is utterly impotent outside of his sphere of influence. A good strategy to further limit that influence would be to let the world see him for what he truly is: an opportunistic meglomaniac with no hope of a future in his region or any other. So, yeah, give him his 15 minutes on the world stage; history is already against him.

One last thing: the Israeli/Palestinain argument is one of convenience, exploited by certain leaders in the Islamic world. If a sustained peace could be achieved, it would take the wind out of a lot of autocratic sails. Well, except for possibly Osama, whose ideology is entirely theocratic in nature. Hmm, maybe we should catch him...

How does one get to be a "public intellectual with academic liberties"?What are the criteria, exactly?

If the discourse is about politics, the discourse is in itself political - I don't believe you can uphold any distinction in practice (however desirable that might be).

I would to see more people of power put themselves to the test by entering academic fora. Imagine how George Bush would handle himself if he wasn't protected by an army of spokespersons and monarchy-like ceremonies.Not that I like Ahmadinejad...he's a complete twit. But at least he faces the discourse directly, be as it may for propagandistic reasons.

I also whole-heartedly disagree with you George. He shouldn't be arrested and if the Columbia wants to let him talk, that is their own decision to make. Yes, he's not a good person, but the world is filled with them.

Glorious! Let us mete out furious vengeance upon meat-eating tyrants everywhere! May the stomp of our jackboots ring out against the bones of the rightfully dead! Onward to our buddhist-transhuman utopia of blood and steel!

Why should Iran be subject to other people's laws as long as all the actions take place inside of their legally recognized boundaries? I don't want Iran's laws forced on me and we shouldn't force our views on them. He is a democratically elected leader, lets not forget. Americans should mind their own business. And why shouldn't they have nuclear energy or weapons? Israel does! Do you really think they would use them offensively? They would be destroyed in an hour. They want the DETERRENT and the NATIONAL PRIDE.

George Dvorsky

Canadian futurist, science writer, and ethicist, George Dvorsky has written and spoken extensively about the impacts of cutting-edge science and technology—particularly as they pertain to the improvement of human performance and experience. He is a contributing editor at io9, the Chairman of the Board at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and is the program director for the Rights of Non-Human Persons program.